Germany wears its riches well: elegant big-city charm, picture-postcard small towns, pagan-inspired harvest festivals, a wealth of art and culture and the perennial pleasures of huge tracts of forest, delightful castles and fine wine and beer are all there for the enjoying. Germany's reunification in 1990 was the beginning of yet another chapter in Germany's complex history. No visitor will remain untouched by this country's past and the way it affects the nation today.

Full name : Federal Republic of Germany
Capital : Berlin (pop: 3.45 million)
Area : 357,027 sq km
Population : 82.4 million
People : Predominantly Caucasian, with significant Turkish minority. Germany has absorbed most of the refugees from the former Yugoslavia.
Language : German
Religion : 90% Christian. There are 1.7 million Muslims and about 74,000 Jews (the pre-Holocaust figure was over half a million).
Government : Federal republic, parliamentary system
President : Horst Köhler
Chancellor : Angela Merkel

GDP : US$2,522 billion
GDP per head : US$30,100
Growth rate : 0.9%
Inflation rate : 2%
Major industries : motor vehicles, engineering, chemicals, iron, steel, coal, electronics, environmental technology, food, clothing
Trading partners : EU (esp. France, Netherlands, Italy, UK, Belgium/Luxembourg, ), USA, Japan
EU member : yes
Euro-zone member : yes